


Open Up Your Eyes

by AuthorInDistress



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Getting Together, Hurt Tony Stark, M/M, Marvel 616 References, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-21 10:06:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15555369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuthorInDistress/pseuds/AuthorInDistress
Summary: In which Tony is given some information that is somewhat hard to swallow and with it comes a revelation that he isn't sure he ever really wanted.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Believe it or not but this was inspired by Emily Blunt's solo song in the MLP movie ... which is also the title of this fic ... ?

.  
  
It was five o’clock in the morning when they heard Tony scream.  
  
Steve was out of his seat before the first had barely stopped, running toward the stairs and taking them three at a time to reach the hallway above. Tony continued to scream, a raw sound that he’d never heard come from him before, and it was terrifying.  
  
He reached his door just as Natasha and Clint did, Bruce staggering behind a few moments later, and another scream ripped through the tower loud enough to ring in his ears.  
  
He pounded a fist on the door, “Tony!” Natasha looked wide-eyed beside him, clearly thinking the same as him. He’d never heard Tony scream like this before, “Tony what is it?! Open the door!”  
  
Another scream sounded, sobs mixed with it now, and his heart hammered his chest with worry. What was happening to him?  
  
“Tony!” He could hear the fear in his voice, the desperation that he hoped Tony would answer or that Friday would tell them all that it was just a nightmare but Friday was silent and Tony’s screams were like torture, “Tony, I’m going to break the door unless you tell me you’re okay!”  
  
“Just break it!” Clint snapped when the screaming worsened but then as suddenly as they had started, they stopped and Tony fell silent, “Cap break the damn door.” Clint rasped, and this time Steve didn’t hesitate.  
  
He braced his shoulder against the wood, pulled back and rammed into it with all his weight. It’s centre splintered and a second blow had it burst inward, letting him climb through and open the door from the inside.  
  
Tony was in bed, in a tank top and shorts from the heat they’d been having, and he looked like he’d been dragged through hell. There were cuts and bruises littered over any area of skin they could see and he had burns marked over him as well. There was sweat shining on his thighs and biceps and a reddened tinge over his face.  
  
He also didn’t look like he was moving.  
  
“No.” Steve moved like he was underwater, his steps heavy and clumsy, and he fell on the bed to scramble toward him and cup Tony’s face with his hands, turning it toward him, “No. No, Tony?” Tony slumped against him like a corpse, his cheeks pressed to his palms, and he didn’t open his eyes, “No. No, wake up. Tony.”  
  
Natasha joined him on the bed, pushing him aside, “Move.” She felt for a pulse, clinical. Calm. “He’s breathing.” She told him and he felt every emotion drain out of him with relief, “But it’s sporadic. You need to take him to medical.” He nodded, staring down at Tony’s limp body until Natasha forced his head toward hers with a grip on his jaw, “Now Steve.” She snapped and he blinked.  
  
Snapping out of the daze that he was in, he slid his hands under Tony’s back and knees and lifted him into his arms. He left the room as fast as he could without handling him badly, running for medical, and noticing that Bruce had already gone.  
  
Friday was suddenly alert now as well and she immediately went to work scanning Tony and sending anything she found to the records Bruce could access. He wasn’t a medical doctor however, despite all his time in India, and they needed someone more experienced with this.  
  
He ran into the med-bay to see that Bruce was a few steps ahead of him anyway and had already thought of that, because he’d prepared a bed with straps and ordered him to put Tony on it.  
  
Steve watched as he secured Tony in, taking hold of the bed from one end and pushing it through the door, “Get Clint.” He told him as he passed and Steve wondered when he’d become the one taking orders instead of giving them.  
  
At the moment however, he could hardly think past _please let him be okay_ that he supposed he should be grateful his team could still act.  
  
Friday alerted Clint for him and a moment later, he started the Quinjet and flew Tony out of the tower and toward the nearest SHIELD facility. Steve stood on the landing pad, his hair whipping in the wind as the jet took off, and he realised that his face was wet from both sweat and tears.  
  
Once the jet was out of sight he went back to Tony’s room, finding Natasha scouring every inch of it with a fierceness that he’d not seen in her before.  
  
“What happened?” He asked her, stepping over broken pieces of the door and staring around the room. She’d switched on the lights since he’d left and ran a hand through her hair when she saw him.  
  
“I don’t know,” She snapped, “I can’t find anything.” She looked up then, staring at him, “Where’s Tony?”  
  
“Clint’s flown him to SHIELD.” He told her, glancing around with her to see if he could spot something she might have missed, though he highly doubted he would, “He had burns on him, didn’t he?” He checked, not sure if it had been panic that had made him see things but she nodded and he sagged, “And there’s nothing in here?”  
  
“No burn marks, no scuff marks,” She said, sounding agitated, “No blood, no weapons, no sign of a break in, no sign of a magical attack. There’s nothing! The room’s clear.” She turned to him, “I have no idea what happened in here Steve.”  
  
“Then we need to put the tower on lockdown until we know what did.” Steve said, feeling a semblance of control returning to him now that he knew Tony was in good hands.  
  
“Someone else should check in here first,” Natasha murmured, gesturing around her, but he shook his head.  
  
“I trust your judgement.” He said, before directing his next words to the ceiling with a habit he hadn’t quite broken yet, “Friday lock us down.” He ordered, “Let the Quinjet back in once Clint’s here but other than that, get requests for entry.”  
  
“I have sent a medical alert to Miss Potts as per a recurring order from Mr Stark,” She told him, “But she will be using her personal code to enter anyway.”  
  
“That’s fine. We’ll meet her in the common room.”    
  
In the end however, Pepper went straight to SHIELD and didn’t come to the tower at all. Tony stayed in medical until 11am the next day when he was then transferred back home but she didn’t come with him, heading back to the office to handle a few things first. The Doctor that supervised the move gave Steve a copy of the medical report he’d made and gave an order that Tony should rest in bed for a few days, even if he demanded to get up.  
  
Steve promised to keep him there.  
  
He sat beside Tony in their own medical bay once everyone else had gone, reading the report over and over again. Clint had joined Natasha in the ‘hunt for clues’ in Tony's room and lab and Bruce had suggested he leave so as to not overcrowd Tony when he did wake.  
  
Steve stayed here because - well. He stayed because he needed to.  
  
The report had plenty of scans and test results but they declared no sign of poison or magical intrusion. They did show the already obvious signs of deep cuts and second or first-degree burns however and there was also a line around Tony’s throat that suggested strangulation via a wire or thin rope. He even had bruises over areas that would have usually have meant broken bones but other than these superficial and outward injuries, internally Tony was fine.  
  
Which was a huge relief of course, but it didn’t make sense.  
  
The screams he’d had couldn’t have been caused by just a few cuts and scrapes, not even the burns would have made him sound the way he’d sounded before. Something had happened to him. Something had _been_ happening to him while they’d been right outside his door.  
  
Steve put his head in his hands, chucking the report aside and sighing.  
  
Maybe Tony would be able to shed some light on this all when he woke but he wasn’t sure if he should press him so soon or if it was foolish to wait and let whatever did this get away. Around an hour later however, this confliction didn’t seem to matter so much when Tony did wake. All he could feel was relief instead.  
  
He woke slowly, so slowly that Steve almost didn’t notice until he decided to glance down at just the right moment and see his eyes open.  
  
He woke like a robot, his face blank and his eyes blinking twice as though he was rebooting. When he sucked in a breath and shifted his legs beneath the blanket however, Steve felt himself relax at how natural and non-robotic those movements were and assured himself that he was fine.  
  
“Hey,” He whispered, twisting in his chair to look down at him and smile, “How you doing?” Tony stared up at him when he spoke and the relief vanished when he saw what looked like fear cloud his eyes, “Tony?”  
  
Tony continued to stare up at him without a sound, his eyes wide. He visibly froze when Steve leant toward him and instinctively, Steve sat back as he caught that reaction.  
  
“It’s okay Tony,” He assured him, not sure what he could be seeing or remembering that had him so frightened, “You’re in the tower. You’re safe.”  
  
Tony’s fear bled into disbelief and when Steve tried to reach out to touch his shoulder gently, he actually slid backward over the bed to avoid it, “Don’t.” He snapped, darting his eyes around as though checking to see if they were alone. “Don’t touch me.”  
  
“Tony, what happened?” Steve asked, more concerned now than he’d been when he’d heard the screams, “Are you alright? Do you need anything?”  
  
“Rhodey.” Tony rasped, “I want to call Rhodey.”  
  
“Okay.” Steve nodded, “Okay I can get Friday to – ”  
  
“No.” Tony interrupted him, viciously, “I’ll do it.”  
  
“Okay.” Steve said softly, wary in the face of this sudden hostility, “Would you like some water or – ?”  
  
“No.” Tony interrupted again, “Just – go. Please. Can you just go?” Steve paused, looking down at him, and Tony stared down at his arm instead, “Leave Cap. Now.”  
  
Forcing himself to not argue with a frightened man, he stood, pushing his chair back and walking out of the room. He tried not to feel hurt or insulted as he turned back to close the door and saw Tony talking to the air, likely to Friday, and noticed how different he reacted to their voices compared to his.  
  
He realised he was staring quite intensely when he startled at a hand on his shoulder and spun to see Natasha standing beside him, “Hey.” She said, looking through the door at Tony as well and seeing that he was awake, “Is he okay?”  
  
“I’m not sure.” Steve told her honestly, “He kicked me out before I could really ask.” She didn’t seem too concerned about that, “You don’t think that’s odd then.” He noted and she shrugged.  
  
“Well Tony’s secretive.” She said, “We heard him scream and in pain and then watched him unconscious. He’s bound to feel off with it all.” He nodded slowly, hating that he understood, “He doesn’t like people to know when he’s hurt, Steve. It’s not about you.”  
  
“It sure felt like it was me.” He said, “He looked – scared Natasha. I don’t know.”  
  
“Who’s he talking to?” She asked.  
  
“Rhodey. Or Friday.” He said, “He wanted to call Rhodey when I asked if he needed something but he didn’t tell me why. Or let me call for him ...” He trailed off when Tony turned his gaze toward them, narrowing his eyes when he saw them watching through the glass and Natasha took him by the arm to lead him away.  
  
Clint was slouched over the sofa when they found him and he didn’t seem too surprised by Tony’s hostility either, claiming that he’d be alright after an hour and would be asking for food in no time.  
  
Steve hoped he was right but some part of him couldn’t quite forget the fear he’d seen in Tony’s eyes. Fear that had been directed at him.

  
  
.

  
  
“Friday call Rhodey,” Tony spoke into the now silent room. Steve didn’t know it but almost everything he did made a sound, his muscles shifted under his shirt and his steps were padded but solid. It was amazing he was as good at stealth as he was, with everything working against his attempts to be soundless.  
  
Rhodey answered after a few bells and Tony spoke first, before he could tell him he was busy or unavailable, “I need you.” He blurted and he could hear static for a few moments along with the rush of wind that let him know Rhodey was in the suit and was flying.  
  
“Tony, I’m on call right now you know that,” Rhodey said, clearly used to there not being much of a greeting between the two of them anymore that they could dive right into something, “I can’t drop everything every time you – ”  
  
“This isn’t like that.” Tony interrupted, “I need you. Here.” He glanced at the door, narrowing his eyes when he saw Natasha and Steve watching him, “I don’t – I … I don’t feel _safe.”_  
  
Rhodey audibly paused, “What do you mean?” He asked after a moment and Tony sat back, hugging himself.  
  
“I need someone on my side here. Please.”  
  
“Why?” Rhodey demanded, “What the hell’s going on Tony?”  
  
“I can’t explain on the phone.” Tony said, “Just – please.”  
  
Rhodey sighed, loudly, “Okay. Okay hang on. I need to transfer notes and leadership for the group and then I’ll be there. Give me an hour.”  
  
“Okay.” Tony relaxed at that, breathing a little easier, “Okay, thank you.”  
  
“I want take-out when I get there, I’m starving.” Tony smiled, nodding and ordering some Thai as soon as the call disconnected.  
  
His smile was gone by the time Rhodey arrived however, as he’d sat in bed for the entire hour and half that it had taken for him to reach the tower, thinking and rethinking everything and putting a hand around the red line over his throat.  
  
Rhodey was sent straight to the med-bay by Friday, with the instructions that he should avoid running into the Avengers before he got here. He was out of his suit and in a shirt and faded jeans, jogging into the room and raising an eyebrow when it sealed shut behind him. Locked.  
  
“Hi,” Tony sat up a little when he saw him, relieved, and Rhodey took one look at him and frowned.  
  
“What the hell happened?” He asked, taking the seat that Steve had been in before and scanning his eyes over every cut and bruise he could see, “Was there a fight? Who did this?”  
  
Tony stared at him, swallowing past a tight throat, and waiting until Rhodey looked back up to meet his eyes so he could send his urgency through them, “I need you to listen to me. I need you to trust me.” He said and he could see immediate concern fill Rhodey’s eyes, “No matter how crazy it sounds.”  
  
“Tony who did this to you?” Rhodey repeated, sounding tense and geared for a fight that he looked like he didn't quite understand yet. Tony kept his face blank as he answered, his voice low and honest.  
  
“The Avengers." He said, "The Avengers did this to me.” And a duo of light-bulbs burst above them.  
  
.


	2. Chapter 2

.

“I asked you to trust me.” Tony snapped when Rhodey continued to pace the room, “I said _I know it sounds crazy, but I need you to trust me_. And you’re just going to tell me that I don’t know what happened to me?”

“No.” Rhodey corrected him firmly, taking a seat again and facing him, “That is not what I said.”

“No, right, what you said was that I dreamed the whole thing.” Tony rolled his eyes, hurt but trying hard to hide it behind a wall of anger.

“Well it sounds like a nightmare Tony.” Rhodey repeated patiently and he was glared at with dark eyes.

Tony yanked the collar of his medical gown down, showing the red line across his throat, “You don’t get _this_ from a nightmare.” He bit, “Or these.” He thrust his arms out, showing the bruises and burns over them.

Rhodey looked at them with an annoyingly calm and still so patiently blank face, “And you don’t think maybe something else is at work here? Something that might be trying to turn you against each other?”

“No.” Tony said, adamant, “I know what I saw. And I know what I _felt.”_

“Tony – ”

“I know what I felt Rhodey.” Tony insisted. “It was them.”

“So you’d rather think your friends did this to you than to consider any other option?” Rhodey asked, his eyebrows raised in undisguised disbelief.

Tony met his gaze, “It’s hard to explain okay, I get that. But I – I _know_ Rhodey. It sounds crazy, yes. It sounds impossible, but it was _me._ I was them and they were me, and it – it happened. To all of them.” He hugged himself as he sat back, biting his lip, “And it scares me.”

“Yeah I can see that.” Rhodey told him, “But I can’t see why you believe your friends are capable of this.”

“Because they are capable of it.” Tony said, “I’ve seen signs. Why do you think I accepted this so easily? I’ve been having these – _visions_ or whatever, for weeks.”

“Weeks?” Rhodey checked and Tony nodded, “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you would have laughed.” Tony argued, “Or rolled your eyes.” He added just as Rhodey did, “And I didn’t think much of it either. None of them were as bad as this one. This one was – it was like someone had gotten fed-up with me ignoring it all and decided to shove them all in together – ” He stopped when the door opened, staring like a rabbit in headlights.

Clint walked in, pausing when he saw Rhodey sitting there in surprise, only to recover quickly and smile in greeting, “Hey Rhodes.” He said and when Rhodey nodded at him, he turned to Tony, “Hey. You look a little better. How you feeling?”

“Fine.” Tony said shortly, turning away.

“Cool.” Clint didn’t seem bothered by his iciness, “Just thought I’d check in on you. I didn’t know Rhodes was here.”

“Where is everyone?” Rhodey asked when Tony didn’t give a response.

“Bruce is in the lab.” He said, “And Nat and I were looking into what happened, trying to see if anyone had gotten into the room or if there was a gas in the air or anything. Nothing so far.” He frowned when Tony continued to stare at the wall, “Cap’s pretty worried though. Wants us to put the whole place on lockdown.”

At that, Tony snapped his head toward him, eyes wide, “You can’t.” He said, “You’re not allowed to do that. You need my authorisation.”

“Okay.” Clint said slowly, “We won’t without your permission obviously, but we don’t need your authorisation. Cap has a code doesn’t he?”

Tony looked at him, remembering that he had given Steve codes to almost everything, as their leader and because he trusted him. He regretted that now.

“Right.” He said softly and Clint glanced at Rhodey just the once before making an aborted gesture at the door.

“I’ll uh – see you later then.” He muttered, turning and leaving, not even stopping when he heard the door seal shut after him.

“I said not to let anyone in Friday.” Tony said once he was gone and Rhodey sighed.

“Sorry boss, he had the overriding code. I’ve taken him out for you now though, before you ask.”

“Good.” Tony gripped the blanket in both hands, “Take them all out of it. And remove all privileges for Captain America.”

“Will do boss.”

“Tony.” Rhodey put a hand on his shoulder, a scowl immediately turning to worry when he slid the hand down to the small of Tony’s back and froze, “Hey, you’re shaking. You okay?”

Tony paused, only noticing now that he was and blinking back any other emotion that threatened to show itself, “I’m fine.” He said, shrugging Rhodey grip off. “You can go if you want.”

“Hey I’m not going anywhere.” Rhodey snapped, forcefully turning him until he had no choice but to look at him, “I’ll listen okay. Whatever happened, it scared you. It really scared you. So I’ll listen. Open-minded, I promise.” Tony scoffed, “Tony. I _swear_ okay. Now tell me.”

“I already told you.” Tony muttered.

“So tell me again.” Tony gave him a long look before eventually opening his mouth and doing his best to explain what had been happening these past couple of weeks.

It had been a Wednesday when he'd noticed it happening. They’d started off as daydreams.

At first, Tony had attributed it to stress or a lack of sleep. After a while however, they’d started to show on his skin. He’d gone straight to Friday then, to search if there were any similar situations out there, only to find video after video of hoaxes, supposed hauntings and scenes from the _Nightmare on Elm Street_ movies.

Nothing had suggested a scientific explanation for dreams that resulted in real-life wounds and he wondered if maybe he was unconsciously doing it to himself.

Friday had been proof that he hadn’t been however and soon enough, they started to get even worse. Visions started to become reactions. He’d flinch at sudden movements from Steve, freeze when he saw a needle or start to feel sick or feverish whenever he was within proximity to the Avengers. And then there was the last vision, the worst one, that had lasted for over two minutes and had had him hospitalised from the pain.

“What do these visions show?” Rhodey asked, listening intently just as he’d promised.

Tony looked at him, “Death.” He said, “My death. Over and over again, in different ways and with different people and in different worlds. But it’s me. Every time.”

“And how do you die?” Rhodey asked now, “I mean. What’s the worst one?”

“They’re all bad.” Tony said, earnest, “It’s me Rhodey. I feel it, all of it. I feel myself _die.”_

“Okay. It’s alright.” Still calm, Rhodey pointed to his neck, “So what caused that one?”

Tony put a hand to the line that he knew was there, “That was – uh. There was a fight. A huge fight. Avenger against Avenger, more heroes than I’ve ever known existed but – but we all knew each other anyway?”

He sounded unsure, unable to explain how he knew all this as well, “By the end of it, it was just Steve and me. He had me down on the ground, hitting me. There was fire everywhere.” He felt his voice grow lower as he recalled everything that he’d seen and felt, “He had his shield in his hands.” He lifted his own hands up, imitating what he remembered, “And he – ” He brought the imaginary shield down, demonstrating how it had cut off his head.

“Jesus Tony.” Rhodey sat back, putting a hand to his own throat, “And you think Steve. Steve _Rogers_ out there, could do that to you?”

“We’ve argued before.” Tony pointed out, “He’s not exactly an angel.”

“But is he a murderer?”

“This Tony didn’t think he was.” Tony said, “This Tony thought he would never hurt him like this but he did. He _killed_ him Rhodey, it was real.”

“Okay.” Rhodey sighed again, “Okay let’s say he did. What about the others? The bruises?”

“There’s almost a hundred deaths in my head okay.” Tony told him, “I can’t say them all, it’s – I don’t even know some of the people in them. In one of them, there’s a man that can grow or shrink but he isn’t Lang. And he – his wife or something is killed in action and he blames me. He tortures me.” He swallowed, feeling a phantom burst of electricity through him, “And Thor hurt me too.”

“Thor?”

“Yeah. He’s – angry with me. And we fight.” He felt distant, the sounds of hammer hitting metal, flesh hitting bone, filling his mind, “He’s so _angry._ And he’s hitting me and hitting me and he hits me with lightning and tells me he’s not holding back anymore.”

“Your suit can take lightning though, can’t it?”

“But it didn’t this time.” Tony said, “It was more than I’d ever felt hit me and when it was over, I couldn’t walk. My suit was dead and there was mud everywhere and I was bleeding. Badly. He told me to ‘walk’ when I asked how to get home and then he just left me there.” He glanced down, “It was raining.”

“But he didn’t kill you.” Rhodey checked, his voice soft against how distressed Tony was becoming, “Did he?”

“No. Not directly.” Tony said, blunt, “I died of exposure.”

Rhodey cleared his throat, images of Tony left in the mud burned in his mind for just a moment until he pushed it out and forced himself to not imagine any of this, “What about Natasha? Or Clint? They ever hurt you?”

“Did they hurt me.” Tony scoffed, “Natasha’s poisoned me. She’s sold me to Hydra. She’s stabbed me, slit my throat, left me to die when I was held captive – ” He hitched a breath in when he realised how close to vomiting he was, “We’re not friends, in a lot of these worlds. She hates me.”

Swallowing down the automatic _I’m sure she doesn’t,_ Rhodey asked, “And Clint?”

“He’s never killed me exactly. Not himself, directly.” Tony said, hesitantly, “But the deaths with him involved are mostly him leaving me behind to die, or knowing I was captured and not doing anything about it. There were aliens in one, I think. Called Cree. Or Kreek? And Clint drugged me and handed me to them so they could extract something from my brain.” He shut his eyes for a second, adding slowly that, “ … He didn’t seem to care that I’d die.”

“You okay?” Rhodey asked when he didn’t say anything else and he swiped at his face, despite there not being any tears yet.

“No.” Tony mumbled, “I feel like I can’t trust anyone, anymore. I feel – I feel _stupid."_

“Well what about me?” Rhodey asked, “Can you trust me?”

“Every version of me trusts you." Tony said, "You’re always on my side. Always. Even when you hate me, you’ve never hurt me.”

Ignoring how warm that made him feel, Rhodey asked, “And Pepper?”

Tony shrugged, overly blasé in a way that was so clearly false, “I didn’t want her to see me like this.”

"Like what?"

"Like I'm _freaking out_ Rhodey!" Tony exclaimed now, "Because I am! And I don't know what to do!"

His wrist burned as he sat there, getting hotter until he shifted it across the blanket and frowned down at the skin. As soon as he’d moved however, pain exploded through every cell in his body and he threw himself back, hitting the edge of the bed hard and thrashing over its sheets.

“Tony!” Rhodey was there but he couldn’t see him, “Tony, what is it? What’s happening?!”

He choked over his own words, gagging, so suddenly incoherent that he felt like a child in a man's body. 

Blurs of images ran through his mind, memories hitting like stab wounds.

He saw a woman, older but similar to the Wanda he knew, with red hair and glowing hands, fire in her eyes as she forced him into the ground. He saw a coffin with his hands pounding on it from the inside, begging to be let free.

_“No not like this, don’t let me die like this!”_

He saw his reactor in his hand, his eyes staring up at a ceiling. He saw nothing but white cell-walls and a body so battered he didn’t recognise it in the reflection of clear vomit beside him. He felt like he was suffocating, or drowning, freezing and burning and every bone breaking in succession.

He saw Steve, standing hunched in a dark room, surrounded by Clint and Thor and others, with anger like nothing he’d ever seen written on his face.

 _“Now?”_ He said, in response to something Tony must have said before, _“Now I’m going to beat you bloody.”_

 

“No!”

He gasped like a fish out of water, air in his lungs though he couldn’t tell, and he realised he was sobbing. There were hands on him, holding him down, voices shouting, and when he blinked up and saw Steve looking down at him he couldn’t help but scream.

“No! No, get away from me!” He kicked, hitting someone in the chin and hearing a groan as he scrambled to get away, “Get the fuck away from me!”

There was a moment of sudden silence, like water in his ears, and then there was just Rhodey and no one else. He was against his chest, holding onto his shirt for dear life, and sobbing his heart out.

“Don’t let them in.” He cried, shaking uncontrollably, “Please – don’t let this happen to me too.”

 

.

 

“What the hell was that?” Clint asked as soon as Rhodey joined them a few hours later. Tony was asleep now, having literally cried until he was too tired to do anything else. Rhodey had never seen him sob so hard, not even at fourteen, and he felt too shaken to even snap out his answer.

“It’s hard to explain.” He said, heading for the kitchen to make himself a mug of coffee. His hands were shaking, “I don’t even know where to start.”

Tony had clung onto him so tightly that he’d felt like a monster letting him go, even if he had been asleep when it had eventually happened.

“Well try to.” Clint said, glaring at him like this was all his fault.

Rhodey turned to them all then, anger welling up to replace his weariness. Thor had arrived since he’d been in the med-bay and he wasn’t sure whether he’d been called or if he’d just turned up at the right time, but Friday must not have mentioned it to avoid upsetting Tony. Seeing him sitting there was jarring however.

It made him think of what had apparently happened to another Tony, if what his Tony was seeing was real. And after seeing and feeling the fear that he’d felt during what must have been another vision, he was starting to believe that it was.

“Alright, fine.” He took a long sip of the coffee he’d made, burning his tongue in an attempt to ground himself, “Short version; He’s having visions. Of other Tony Stark’s from other Universes.”

“Visions of what?”

“Of their deaths. His deaths.” Natasha unfolded her arms at that, reading into his tone.

“And we’re involved in them?” She asked it though it was obvious that she’d guessed what was happening now, “Is that why he doesn’t want any of us near him?”

“But they’re not real.” Steve said, “We haven’t – we would never have done anything to hurt him.”

“I know that.” Rhodey told him, “But whatever he’s seeing has made him change his view on you all. He doesn’t trust you right now.”

“That’s bullshit,” Clint snapped, “He’s just freaking out. Let me talk to him – ” He made to push past but Rhodey put a hand out to stop him just as Friday spoke as well.

“Please do not attempt to enter the medical-bay Mr Barton, you will not be well received.” Clint stopped, grinding his teeth and taking a step back.

“You need to understand.” Rhodey tried to explain, “Tony’s seen himself die at your hands. He won’t want to see you.”

“But it isn’t real.” Thor insisted, looking both worried and adamant, “This is likely someone’s plan. Something making him see this, to turn him against us. We would never hurt him.”

“Yeah well I don’t know, you have _strangled_ him before.” Rhodey snapped, immediately regretting it and hiding the rest of what he wanted to say behind his mug of coffee.

Thor stared at him, “I was angry.” He said, softly.

“Yeah this Thor was angry too.” Rhodey said and Thor straightened.

 _“This_ Thor?” He asked, “What did ‘this’ Thor do to him?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Clint said, “Because it isn’t real. It’s like you said, someone’s trying to turn him against us. He’s our landlord, it’s the perfect target. If he doesn’t trust us, then he can kick us out.”

“So he’s just a landlord to you?” Rhodey asked, narrowing his eyes. Tony’s words _‘I’ve seen signs’_ rang through his head and he didn’t know if he was seeing betrayal because he was so shaken or if he was just angry.

“No,” Clint snapped, “I just – it makes sense _because_ he is.”

Steve looked at Rhodey, his eyes hurt and glazed, “You think it’s real.” He said and Rhodey turned away.

“I’m not ruling it out.” He admitted, “I’ve known Tony a lot longer than you have and I’ve never seen him like this. Whatever he’s seeing, he’s accepted that it’s real and he doesn’t do that easily. That means he believes you’re capable of it.”

Natasha had been quiet since this had begun, her expression telling that she believed herself capable of it as well.

“I’d like to talk to him.” She said eventually, her voice soft, “If he’ll let me. I’ll ask first of course, but I think I need to.”

“Mr Stark is asleep at the moment.” Friday reminded them.

“I can wait.” Natasha said, looking hesitant for once in her life, “But before I do … has anyone heard of Dr Reed Richards?”

“I have.” Bruce rasped, walking into the room and looking haggard as he did, “I’ve been on the phone with him for about an hour now.” His eyes were red when he looked at Rhodey, “I’m _sorry.”_ He then whispered and Clint took a step toward him.

“Sorry for what?” Rhodey asked.

“Tony gave me access to the medi-bay cameras.” He explained, “I think he forgot because we didn’t use it that often anymore.” He both looked and sounded ashamed as he spoke, as he admitted what he’d done, “I listened in to your conversation. About the Universes.”

“Bruce.” Natasha shook her head, despite spying being a part of her job. Her disapproval made it feel like she was only putting a show on to appease Rhodey, so he’d let her talk to Tony afterward. He ignored it in favour of listening to what Bruce had to say as he continued.

“I’ve heard of it before, of the theory of different Universes and how it’s been proven that they exist. I’d read about it in one of Reed Richards’ journals a few times before.” He wrung his hands together, “So I called him.”

“What did he say?” Thor asked and he scoffed lightly.

“There _are_ millions of Universes out there,” He said, “And there are over a hundred that have dead Tony Starks in them.”

“Bruce – ” Steve started but the look on Bruce’s face stopped him, especially once he looked at him dead-on, with hatred he didn’t feel he deserved.

“Most of them were killed by you.” Bruce told him, and it was like a punch to the gut, the impact those words left, “Or another version of you.” He continued, his voice calm despite the anger radiating behind it, “I saw what some of them did, heard Tony say it. I'm not surprised he wants you gone."

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's emotional and the blame-game is starting.


End file.
